Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-06-12
UNDER WATER.
Dtvers sometimes steep ON the
Rfver,s He'd.

"Did ever see dead mau sitting in
n chair in a stateroom and bending over
a book as though he had been reading
when he was drowned! Never. Nor
has any other diver.
ssThen the tales one hears about such
matters are little off?'
They're simply lies. There's more
living about diving than about any other
occupation"
ssGive me a straight story.
"Well, to begin with, I'll dispose OF
that yarn about corpses being found sit
ting in chairs in the staterooms OF sunk
en- steamers. I've been in sunken
steamers that were full of corpses.
There was. for instance, the Hamburg
steamer Cimbria, which went down in
,ha North Sea some five years ago, with
800 emerants. l and two other divers
from here. who were sent for to help in
getting out the cargo literally worked
among hundreds of corpses. The CELL
ings we're lined with them."
"The ceilings!"
Eyes. sir. A diver working a vessel
for coroses feels for them along the CELL
ipcs if the wreck is older than a couple
OF days. If he goes into her only day
or two after she went down, he feels
along both the floors and ceilings
That's where the corpses are; not In
chairs"
"Why did they send away over here
for divers to go down into the Cimbria!'
because New York divers are on top
of the heap. The reason is that most
of their work is done in the dark; for
it's pitch dark under the water around
New York. l suppose it's on account
of the sewerage. A diver from other
waters can't work in those around New
York, But New York diver can work
in the clear waters elsewhere twice as
fast as the local divers because his sense
of touch-sense of touch under water
is so finely developed. We New York
divers can tell various metals if
they are under water, apart by sense OF
touch; but if they are not under water
we eau feel no difference between them.
Here, for instance; are piece OF copper
and piece of brass. Put them on the
table and bIindfold me and | cant tell
which is which. Chuck 'em in the basin
and pour water over them, and l can
tell the moment l touch the pieces
which is the copper and which is the
brass. You see we New York divers
have to ply all kinds of trades in the
dark
"Then you have to be pretty handy"
''Yes, sir. Ii green hand came to
me and wanted to learn the profession
of diving, the first thing Id advise him
would be to go to sea till he'd learned
the ins and outs of all kinds of vessels
and how to handle and store cargo.
Then he's pretty competent to work
wrecks. Next I'd tell him to learn all
kinds of trades. For we don't consider
working wrecks very fine line of the
profession. The real fine work is when
a diver has to ply some trade, such as
carpentering or pipe-laying, under water.
For instance, a very fine job was the
laying OF the line of pipe for the Health
Department from Port Morris to North
Brother Island. The diver had to keep
the line straight, unpack the pipe, put it
together. and, in fact, do in the dark
the work of a skillful pipe layer"
'tDo you dive much for treasure"
"Theres not much of that going on
now. The biggest job Of that kind was
the Hussar. The work on that wreck
had to be done many feet under the bed
OF the river"
Fright where 81 e went down."
Right where she went down, over a
hundred years ago. A wreck remlins
Just on the same spot where first she
reaches bottom. As years roll on she
works down, down into the bed of the
river. And SO, where the Hussar sank
so long ago, lies her hulk. The diver
got out the stern.post, but didn't find
any treasure. l don't believe that any
treasure will be found on the site of the
wreck. have heard that official docu-
ments in England show that. after the
Hussar struck, the treasure was loaded
into her barge, which upset from the
shifting of some boxes OF the coin oppo-
site red house on Randall's Island.
Some people have crazy no.
tion that Captain Kidd's vessel with a
vast deal of treasure went down off
Peekskill. and not long ago a syndicate
employed diver for two summers. He
didn't find trace of wreck. Some di-
vers, who haven't been long enough in
the profession to be constantly employed
and have a good deal of time on their
hands, work old wrecks. For instance:
The Commodore, off Stonington, the
Isaac Newton, off Fort Lee, and the
Thomas Morgan, off Yonkers; but there
isn't fair days wages in such jobs.
Sometimes, however, We hear OF old
wrecks that haven't been worked yet,
and they are worth looking after. Two
years ago one of us who was building
fhu Iofs fnr r,,ar Of tba hrs1 1efa
at Saybrook heard that schooner
loaded with coal and copper
had gone down there some
thirty.hve years ago. He placed
the wreck and got out the cargo, which
was still in prime condition. But there
are as many lies about old wrecks as there
are about corpses. Whenever q sailor
is thirsty but hasn't any money ne con.
cocts lie about a wreck and comes to
US with it. He almost always goes away
as thirsty as he came"
"What does a divers outfit consist
pf.'
"a boat, a pump, hose, lines and
dI, IS. The dress consists of layers of
duck and rubber. The shoes weigh
twenty pounds each. On his chest and
DICK ne carries forty pound weights.
The helmet when it has been placed
over the divers head, is firmly screwed
into copper collar that is attached to
his dress. A weighted line is sunk to
the spot he is to reach, and down that
line ne goes with the life line around
Lis waist, and the hose through which
the air is pumped attached to his hel.
met. Those who handle the life line
aud hose must regulate these as he
moves about below"
"What are divers working day and
his wages?"
"Four hours and So. If he furnishes
his own apparatus his wages are higher
--S35 to $50 day. For getting haw-
ser out OF steamers screw Ia charge
$50 If furnished my own apparatus"
II suppose part of the charge is for
the risks you run?"
"Yes, diver is exposed to great